Anyone else here have a 1976 Martin HD28?

[bjewell]

Maybe I asked this years ago, but the search machine doesn't turn anything up.

I am a huge fan of this specific guitar and year. I had one back in 1976 that I literally lost. Replaced it about a year ago, and the current one has the same huge tone and deep bass. All '70s HD28s have a mojo but the ones made exclusively in 1976 have something just a bit more special. So? do I have any cohorts here? -L-

[MancJonny]

I had a new HD-28 back in about 2007-2008, but I sold it.

The volume and tone were absolutely stunning - never heard any 6-string flat-top as loud, ever.

But the neck was way too thin for me (Martin low profile necks since the mid 1980s) and I didn't like the matt-type finish on the necks either - though, with necks that slim, it was probably necessary to stop the player's hands skidding right off!

I've never heard of any one particular year being so good, though. And, on the whole, 70s Martins do not have a good reputation generally - though there were no doubt gems to be found among them. Sounds like you had one!

[zombywoof]

No but I do have a friend who has a Bicentennial limited edition Martin D-76 and Vega 76 banjo (they were originally sold as a pair). The guitar is pretty much a D-35 with some added bling. This is one of the few D-35s I have played and liked so maybe there is something about that particular year.

[ManyMartinMan]

I had one and it was (as they are) wonderful. It obviously is not a D-28, D-76, D-35 or any other guitar. The HD-28 is, and has always been, a great guitar. I see no reason for a 1976 to be any different (as a year) than any other year but...that's for you to decide. Enjoy that great guitar.

[SpruceTop]

I had one that I bought new back in 1977. It was my first of six that I've owned with a 2014 Martin HD-28 being my current one.

[bjewell]

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

I had one and it was (as they are) wonderful. It obviously is not a D-28, D-76, D-35 or any other guitar. The HD-28 is, and has always been, a great guitar. I see no reason for a 1976 to be any different (as a year) than any other year but...that's for you to decide. Enjoy that great guitar.

Well, actually, there is a BIG difference because it was the first year of the HD28 and the first yer Martin went back to scalloped bracing since 1944. They took a lot of wood out of the braces, plus they made some of the guitars with mystery wood tops. This all changed in 1977. Subsequent vintages are all good, but there is something very, very special about the 1976's...

[Martin 1940D28]

No doubt the best Martin D 28 since the changeover in rosewood in late 1969.

[revellfa]

My friend has one. Best git I've ever played. Small maple bridgeplate next year they went back to large rosewood plate but it wasn't the same. 76s are special.

[Arch Stanton]

A "76" HD-28, that instrument must FILL the room with sound. What a beautiful guitar, and from the maker who invented the dreadnought.

[Chipotle]

My HD-28 is 5 years too young (1981). It definitely sounds fantastic, though! I can't say a 1976 in particular would sound that much better, but who knows?

[Wade Hampton]

When Martin introduced the HD-28 in 1976, they hadn't used Adirondack spruce for tops for some thirty years. So any institutional knowledge that might have lingered about working with Adirondack versus Sitka spruce was mostly gone by that point. Not realizing that the average Sitka spruce top doesn't have quite as much tensile strength as the average Adirondack spruce top, for the first three years or so of the new HD-28's production the Sitka tops were thinned to the same dimensions that had been used on the original pre-war Martins.

As a result, there's a characteristic crack in the top that runs from the pickguard to the bridge that I've seen on at least half a dozen HD-28's from that period. My repairman alerted me to it: he'd seen a lot more.

Please note that I'm not saying all 70's HD-28's have this problem, but it's fairly common problem with them.

About twenty years ago there was a lady from my church who had a line on a used 1976 or '77 HD-28. It had the beginnings of that characteristic crack in the top. Naturally, the guy selling it wanted full market price for one in good condition. I told her:

"This crack needs to be fixed before it gets any worse. Either the seller should get it fixed or else knock $200 off the price so you can get it fixed. But either way don't wait, because it's only going to get worse and then cost a LOT more to fix."

Her response was to get angry at me. She'd asked me for my advice, then was annoyed with what I told her. So she ignored it: she bought the guitar at the guy's asking price, crack and all, then ignored the crack until it became impossible to ignore.

Six months later it was on my guitar repairman's bench, and it was a far more extensive and expensive repair than if she'd listened to me in the first place. (I never saw her again, but a friend of mine who'd stayed in touch with her told me she was even angrier with me, because I'd been right! People can be strange that way...)

Anyway, if the 1976 HD-28's have a special sound, it's probably due to the thinner top and (possibly) a smaller bridgeplate. On the ones that haven't developed a crack in the top from the pickguard to the bridge, it means that they've got a stronger top than the ones that have cracked.

There's a range of strength in guitar tops, and it's impossible to tell at a glance where an individual top will fall within that range. It's just luck of the draw, really.

Once Martin figured out what the problem was, they beefed up the tops on the HD-28's just enough to make that cracking less likely. Plus they understand the characteristics of their top woods in far greater technical detail than they ever did back then. In the 1970's, they were basically flying by the seat of their pants...

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[circuitdialog]

Originally Posted by revellfa

My friend has one. Best git I've ever played. Small maple bridgeplate next year they went back to large rosewood plate but it wasn't the same. 76s are special.

I have a 1977 HD-28 (made right in the middle of that year per the serial #). It has a small maple bridge plate. No cracks. Perfect intonation. It's a special guitar with a great growl.

[poopsidoo]

I have a 1983 150th anniversary hd-28. Id be interested in information about the building of these. I got it used, it’s had 2 neck resets. It has the small maple plate. This guitar has an amazing and LOUD sound. I had a Lyric installed, but when I heard about the Ultratonic pick up I got tat installed. Love it!

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by bjewell

Well, actually, there is a BIG difference because it was the first year of the HD28 and the first yer Martin went back to scalloped bracing since 1944. They took a lot of wood out of the braces, plus they made some of the guitars with mystery wood tops. This all changed in 1977. Subsequent vintages are all good, but there is something very, very special about the 1976's...

What’s different about the 1976’s is that the tops are thinner. The tops are Sitka spruce but thinned down to pre-war specs.

This caused some problems because the Sitka spruce doesn’t have the tensile strength of Adirondack, which was on the pre-war original guitars. A lot of those 1976, 77 and 78 HD-28’s have cracks from the pickguard to the bridge - it took Martin a few years to figure out the problem and correct it, which they did by thickening the Sitka spruce a little bit.

In the meantime, if you’ve got a 1976 HD-28 that didn’t crack there, you’re lucky. Because they are fine-sounding instruments.


Wade Hampton Miller

[zoopeda]

Originally Posted by bjewell

Well, actually, there is a BIG difference because it was the first year of the HD28 and the first yer Martin went back to scalloped bracing since 1944. They took a lot of wood out of the braces...

That was the problem with mine. I trialed a ‘76 HD28 (along with an early 80s), and the 76 braces were way over scalloped. Big flubby bass that deadened the whole guitar. And no power. Looked inside and confirmed, braces were super-scalloped beyond anything I’d ever seen. But they varied a lot more then vs now. The early 80s one I tried sounded incredible by comparison. But there were a bunch of undisclosed problems the seller wasn’t willing to pay for, so it went back.

None of this is to rain on OP’s parade. I bet his 76 is everything he says, and I’m sure there are lots of great ones. But because this was martins first attempt at scalloping, in a long time, they’re pretty variable. And all had Sitka tops and small bridgeplates. Love the necks on these guitars too!